NEW DELHI: A crowded bus fell into a deep gorge in northern India on Saturday, killing at least 39 people, police told the Associated Press.   The driver lost control of the vehicle at a sharp bend on a mountain road in the Himachal Pradesh state, nearly 620 kilometres north of the Indian capital, New Delhi, said police officer Raj Kumar.

The bus then plunged more than 100 metres into the gorge, Kumar told the Associated Press.

He also said the rescue operation was continuing and that the death toll of 39 was likely to increase.

The Press Trust of India added that twenty people who were injured in the accident have been hospitalized.

Police figures show India has the world's highest road death toll, with more than 110,000 people dying each year in accidents commonly caused by overcrowding, speeding, and poor vehicle and road maintenance.